What is being proposed?
The European Commission has proposed the Digital Fairness Act, a consumer rulebook aimed at protecting people in digital markets. The proposal sets a common framework against design patterns that mislead or pressure users online.
Key measures
- A ban on loot boxes for minors.
- A blacklist of manipulative interface designs.
- A mandatory, easy termination button for every online subscription.
Why it matters
"Dark patterns" are interface designs that nudge users toward choices they did not intend, while subscription traps make cancellation deliberately difficult. The proposal would bring such practices under direct regulation and set standards for how digital services are designed.
The legislative path
The proposal would repeal the 2005 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. Instead of a directive that member states must transpose into national law, it introduces a directly applicable regulation, replacing 27 separate national rulebooks with a single text. Approval by the European Parliament and member states is still required for it to become law.
